The S.F. Jazz Festival experience is where locals meet legends from the Bay Area and abroad in one of the most brilliant musical art forms.
Now in its 29th year, S.F. Jazz has been a Bay Area cultural institution for nearly three decades. Founded in 1983, it is the largest jazz venue and educational institution on the West Coast.
It offers extensive productions of an array of jazz and world music artists at venues throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area, bringing great artists to the area through their year-round educational programs.
Last Friday, a performance was held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, located at 701 Mission Street in San Francisco where it was easily accessible by public transportation on either MUNI or BART.
Of the many tributes to legendary John Coltrane, tenor saxophone mastermind Javon Jackson stood beyond the ordinary in his project focusing on Coltrane’s associated compositions and immortal recordings featuring four veteran masters with close spiritual and professional ties to Trane.
Heating up the stage on drums was Jimmy Cobb, pianist Mulgrew Miller and Nat Reeves on bass.
The highly esteemed musical masters were especially honored to share the bandstand with Jackson.
“I love playing with Javon,” said Cobb, who is still going strong at age 82. He has collaborated extensively with Coltrane during their years as Miles Davis’ sidemen.
He appeared together on the epochal album “Kind of Blue” and continues to lead his hard-hitting bands and teaching jazz workshops at Stanford University for the past nine years.
“Seeing Bobbie Hutcherson in the audience and being on the bandstand with Jimmy Cobb, I appreciate Jackson’s energy,” said Miller, a potent leader himself who has been consistent across the years, having released several albums to date including, “Live At Yoshi’s Vol. 1” (2004), “Live At Yoshi’s Vol. 2” (2005), “Live At The Kennedy Center Vol. 1” (2006), and “Live At The Kennedy Center Vol. 2” (2007).
Miller is the Director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University and was the Artist in Residence at Lafayette College for the 2008-2009 academic year.
“Sensing the energy all around me, especially the audience, while playing with Javon, I forget I’m onstage,” said world renown bass player Nat Reeves who has been teaching at the Hartt School in Hartford, Connecticut and the University of Hartford.
Reeves have also performed internationally with a number of jazz artists including the legendary Jackie McLean.
The highly esteemed hip sophisticated crowd at Jackson’s performance, included world renown Bay Area musicians, John Handy, a former Jazz Studies professor at San Francisco State, Bobby Hutcherson and Herbie Hancock, to name a few.
Jackson came on the jazz scene gaining attention while apprenticing with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the ‘80s and had memorable stints with molten drummer Elvin Jones, a member of Coltrane’s “classic” quartet.
“The most important thing I learned from Art Blakely was never forget to thank the audience and to play as if it were your last time,” said Jackson.
A very versatile and eclectic musician, Jackson feels that doing different types of music helped him find his own style.
“Starting the day listening to classical music every morning relieves me from stress and helps center me for the day,” said Jackson.
